A Week 10 slate full of heavyweight matchups across the NFL didn't exactly deliver many classic games, well, unless you're a Texans or Bears fan. However, there was a lot to learn from some very consequential results across the league on Sunday and Monday night.
The Patriots and Ravens stole the show in the morning slate on Sunday with impressive wins over quality teams, but nobody stacked up to the NFC contenders that took over in the afternoon. The Rams, Seahawks and Lions all dominated the afternoon slate, setting themselves up as the NFC's biggest contenders.
Those three teams headline the list of biggest winners from Week 10, along with a new addition to the MVP race.
Seahawks continue to stomp inferior opposition
For the second consecutive week, the Seahawks took a 28-0 lead in the first half against an NFC foe. Yes, you read that right. Seattle jumped all over Jacoby Brissett and the Arizona Cardinals, who clearly took some time to get adjusted to playing an opponent that wasn't the Dallas Cowboys defense.
Sam Darnold wasn't asked to do much, as Seattle got two defensive touchdowns from DeMarcus Lawrence in the first half to jump out to that huge lead. However, his season-long numbers are still as good as it gets. Darnold leads the NFL in both EPA per dropback and completion percentage over expected, as he constantly has been able to fit the ball into tight windows down the field. Jaxson Smith-Njigba is still on a record-setting pace at wide receiver, making this offense very hard to stop.
Defensively, the Seahawks still dominated without linebacker Ernest Jones IV in this game due to a knee injury. Seattle is one of the hardest teams to run the football on in the entire league, which should benefit it greatly come playoff time.
This win sets up a blockbuster NFC West matchup in Week 11, and Seattle's opponent was also wildly impressive on Sunday.
Rams get even with 49ers in dominant offensive showing
The Rams suffered one of the wackiest losses of the season earlier in the year against the San Francisco 49ers, with a late goal-line fumble and a failed fourth down in overtime costing them. On Sunday, they made no such mistakes in a 42-26 victory that was never as close as the final score may indicate it was.
Kyle Shanahan was still able to scheme up some quality stuff against this Rams defense, which has been very good this season, but the Rams' offense was too much for San Francisco's depleted defense. Matthew Stafford threw four more touchdowns, extending his league-leading number to 25 on the season, and the Rams could not be stopped.
For the week, the Rams had the second-best EPA per play and EPA per dropback in the entire NFL (we'll get to the first place team shortly), something that has become somewhat of a theme for them this season.
Now, the Rams and Seahawks will do battle in Week 11 in Los Angeles in a clash of two teams that may very well be the two best teams in the NFL right now. On top of that, both teams come in at 7-2, and the winner will have the inside track to win the NFC West with just seven games to go.
That is setting up to be one of the best games of the year, and if both teams continue to play how they have been over the last month or so, it will be must-see TV.
Dan Campbell, the play-caller
The Lions have been winning games this season, and they entered Week 10 with a solid 5-3 record, right in the middle of the NFC playoff race. However, something just felt… off.
Of course, in 2024, the Detroit offense was a machine with Ben Johnson pulling the strings. Now, Johnson is leading the 6-3 Bears while the Lions offense has struggled a bit despite having most of the same pieces on the field.
On Sunday, Dan Campbell had finally had enough of his offense's inconsistency, and he made a change. Campbell took over play-calling duties himself from offensive coordinator John Morton, admitting the change after the game ended. It went about as well as it could have: Detroit racked up 44 points in a 22-point win against the Commanders. They led the NFL in EPA per play (plus-0.44), EPA per pass (plus-0.62) and finished second in EPA per rush (plus-0.24) in Week 10, per Next Gen Stats.
This looked much more like the Lions offense that fans were accustomed to seeing during the 2024 season that saw Detroit finish 15-2. Jameson Williams was involved, Jahmyr Gibbs was creating big plays and Amon-Ra St. Brown was the steadying force in the passing game. If the Lions can keep this mojo going with Campbell pushing the buttons, they will be a very tough out over the course of the season.
Welcome to the MVP discussion, Jonathan Taylor
By this point, most NFL fans know that the MVP award is usually reserved for quarterbacks. The last time a non-QB won the award was in 2012, when Adrian Peterson nearly broke Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record.
The QBs have been leading the way this year as well, with Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford leading the pack for the league's most prestigious individual award. After Sunday, a third name needs to be added to the list: Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.
Taylor has been the best running back in the league all season long and has been the engine of one of the best offenses in the league in Indianapolis, but he took it to another level on Sunday in Berlin.
Taylor carried the ball 32 times for 244 yards and three touchdowns for the Colts in a 31-25 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons. His touchdown scampers included an 83-yard run in the fourth quarter that gave the Colts the lead and a short run in overtime to seal the victory.
Shane Steichen sets things up nicely for the running game and the offensive line is playing well, but there arguably isn't a player at the moment who is creating as many yards on the ground as Taylor is. He now has 1,139 yards on the ground this season, which is over 200 more than Rico Dowdle in second place. His 15 rushing touchdowns are four more than Josh Jacobs in second, and he has simply been one of the best players in the NFL all season long for a Super Bowl contender. That alone should earn him some MVP votes.
